It is standard practice with respect to mating connectors to provide means which position the connector halves so that the terminals therein are aligned for a proper mating engagement. It is common to provide pins, posts, and projections in one half made to fit within complementary apertures in the other half; both integrally molded with respect to the housings of the connector halves, or added as hardware. One problem associated with interconnecting of connector halves arises when the halves are of different suppliers and are not complementary. In such instances it is necessary to provide an adapter that alters one or both of the connector halves so as to permit interconnection. A particular instance of such problem involves the replacement, within a computer bulkhead, of a circuit board-mounted transceiver of one manufacturer with a circuit board-mounted transceiver of another manufacturer. In such instance the replacement board may be characterized by receiver and transmitter ports of alignment differing from the alignment of the ports of the transceiver board which has been replaced. Precise connection between the transceiver ports with a connector through the backplane of the computer bulkhead may be impossible if, indeed, connection may be made at all.
Edwards I addresses the problem of the differing fit of circuit boards, and generally the problem of precise fit between connector halves by providing a connector half with a latching beam mechanism feature for positioning, aligning and guiding mating connector halves and for providing improved retention between the resulting, mated halves.
During interconnection, connector halves must approach one another within the connection envelope which is the area through which each half must pass so as to accomplish fit of one half to the other. The envelope may be enlarged to accommodate a greater area of misalignment by the utilization of certain mechanisms such as the complementary beveled latching beams and aperture surfaces of the clip of Edwards I, wherein the beveled surfaces permit the guiding of the beam heads from a misaligned juxtaposition to an entry into the corresponding accepting apertures of the clip connector half.
Edwards II relates to a connector for joining light transmitting fiber cables through a cover to a transmitter and/or receiver device wherein the connector is characterized by a floating alignment feature that permits realignment of a plug connector half so as to accommodate a misaligned connector half during intermating. The float feature is provided by a retention frame mounted to the cover to captivate the transceiver adapter of the plug connector half with play of the adapter within the frame so as to permit free floating of the transceiver adapter relative to the cover within the retention frame.
It would be advantageous to position the transceiver adapter of Edwards II within the spacing of the float so as to accommodate that portion of the window of connection through which an approaching complementary connector half is most likely to pass. Further it would be advantageous to maintain the position of the transceiver adapter in a particular aspect regardless of the orientation of the cover and connector half. For example, it would be advantageous to maintain the transceiver adapter through the cover in a vertical orientation as well as a horizontal orientation.
The present invention relates to an alignment and centering feature for connector halves which feature may be used in conjunction with the floating alignment feature disclosed and claimed by Edwards II. The present invention is particularly applicable in instances where the misalignment of a mating board is such that the beveled faces of aligning pins or latch beams are unable to come into contact with complementary beveled faces of the apertures of the clip connector half because they are outside or positioned at the extremities of the connection envelope. Further the present invention allows for both horizontal and vertical mounting of connector halves as, for example, where one connector half is attached to a circuit board.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector with a centered floating alignment feature that permits interconnection between connector halves of a variety and range of types. It is particularly an object of the present invention to provide an improved connection between a board mounted transmitter and/or receiver and a shrouded plug connector, as for example, a connection between a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) and a connector of the Fixed Shroud Duplex (FSD) type.